Bass Direct

[Pow_22]

I keep drooling over the 1969 P bass on their site, the black 'roadworn' effort, stunning!

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='Pow_22' timestamp='1458303542' post='3006388']
I keep drooling over the 1969 P bass on their site, the black 'roadworn' effort, stunning!
[/quote]

Don't bother inquiring about it though he'll tell you Fenders are crap and you should buy a Roscoe instead...

[Sammers]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1458303920' post='3006395']
Don't bother inquiring about it though he'll tell you Fenders are crap and you should buy a Roscoe instead...
[/quote]

Fenders [i]are[/i] crap though, I only brought my P because I didn't want the world to suffer from it's naffness.
You guys should thank me....

[tredders]

[quote name='Pow_22' timestamp='1458303542' post='3006388']
I keep drooling over the 1969 P bass on their site, the black 'roadworn' effort, stunning!
[/quote]

I played that a couple of weeks ago - it's really nice!

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1458303920' post='3006395']
Don't bother inquiring about it though he'll tell you Fenders are crap and you should buy a Roscoe instead...
[/quote]

Haha! So true. Mark's been telling me for years to sell my 'Fender junk' and buy a decent bass!

[bubinga5]

i think Mark is a great bloke. I went into his shop and he fitted a preamp into a jazz bass i had at the time. He has opinions on a certain brand of bass cab that he loves and also told me of his dislikes, of a certain brand i was playing through. I would prefer someone to have a bit of passion about what he thinks is great, even though i might not agree with him. Its not like he was on a mission to sell this certain brand, as he has lots of brands in stock, but it gave me the impression that he was a bass player who is passionate. He is bass through and through.

Anyways, i think its the best shop in the country for Electric Bass. I went into The Bass Gallery and found it a bit snotty. The fact that he's a one man band makes a difference.

Edited March 19, 2016 by bubinga5

[DBerriff]

Mark is a man of quick decisions. He listened to my requirements, thrust a Mike Lull Jazz into my hands and let me try it, then said "now try a 5-string" (Lull again). That was it. I still have it, and my bank balance has long since recovered. "Should I try anything else?" I ask. "No, you will only get confused". Damn, he was right. Flash sales technique: no. Professional advice: yes.

He is pretty good at selling used gear too - I have sold quite a bit, and as usual come to regret some of it too. But that was my fault.

[dmccombe7]

I've bought quite a bit of gear from Mark over past few years. 2 Berg cabs, a class D amp, Jaydee bass and a few other bits and bobs.
Last year i decided on a decent 5 stringer.
Drove down (round trip of circa 500 miles) Was made very welcome given the Sandberg bass i was interested in and then 2 off Dingwalls and a Spector they thought i might like.
Settled on Dingwalls but not sure. They left me alone to try them via Vanderkley amp.
No pressure but some good advice and opinions on what each bass might be better suited to. I settled on the Dingwall NG2.
All in all i can't fault the service i've had both on-line and in shop. I never had any pressure put on me to buy any specific item and was more than pleased with Marks help, guidance or suggestions.
My opinion is that suggestion, guidance or advice is there for exactly that. You don't need to accept it but use it to your advantage.
Can't fault the shop at all.
Dave

[EmmettC]

I have bought a few things from Mark in the past, the only time there was a problem was buying a Nordstrand pickup, he sent slightly the wrong model. I called him and he sent the correct one right away, before I sent the wrong one back to him.

[Dan Dare]

Only been once, but found them very helpful. Mark is friendly and well informed - he does, as others say, have his own opinions, but they're based on knowledge and experience. He gave me good advice - I was after a new preamp - and even drove me to the station with my new toy as it was a wet day. Can't say fairer than that.

[Dread Bass]

Here are the facts around my latest transaction with Bass Direct.

I bought and paid for a Darkglass compressor at 9:30pm on Monday 28th which was the bank holiday. At 10:30pm That night i got an email from Mark stating they would ship my order this week. Yesterday i got am message stating it had been shipped and it arrived on my door step at 9:15 this morning.

I mean what else is there to say. Wonderful service which i have come to expect from Bass Direct but never take for granted. That said i have had great experience from Bass Gear as well but i have never used the Gallery. I think we are very lucky to have bass specific shops that offer above average (or in my experience excellent) customer service and a wide range of cool products.

Even if its a bit more expensive i will continue to support these shops. That said Bass Direct were the cheapest i found for the Darkglass.

[DBerriff]

Apart from strings (as for any instrument shop!), I find BD's prices competitive. Some of the special offers are outstanding; I got a brand new Stingray (model with gig-bag) for well under a grand. It's a great bass, too.

[maldy]

[quote name='DBerriff' timestamp='1459333577' post='3015477']
Apart from strings (as for any instrument shop!), I find BD's prices competitive. Some of the special offers are outstanding; I got a brand new Stingray (model with gig-bag) for well under a grand. It's a great bass, too.
[/quote]

Was it a black one? I had my eye on that, but it disappeared before I had a chance to get it! Luckily, another one has appeared on the site now!!

[LewisK1975]

Yep, I've had no issues with them at all - bought and PX'd stuff from them a few times, always helpful and very responsive to email prior to visit.

I've too found their prices are really competitive, I recently got a new EBS pedal from them, and the price was no more than you'd pay from anywhere else really, and I got to try it out in the shop.

Mark also gave me top advice for somewhere nice to have a spot of lunch before heading home too...winner.

[DBerriff]

[quote name='maldy' timestamp='1459341041' post='3015587']


Was it a black one? I had my eye on that, but it disappeared before I had a chance to get it! Luckily, another one has appeared on the site now!!
[/quote] Blue with rosewood board.

[anzoid]

Having read this thread I went and had a look at the Bass Direct website - found an MTD Artist 5-string going for the right price. Ordered it Friday morning after a quick chat with Mark by e-mail. Bass arrived this morning and is wonderful Fairly limited contact apart from a couple of e-mails but excellent service from Mark and Will. The bass also came really well packaged with a cardboad tube in the box acting as a stiffener which was kind of handy as the guy delivering leant on the box as he was typing on his machine... I was thinking "that's my bass you're leaning on... get off...".

So, happy Bass Direct customer. NBD to follow

[project_c]

What is it with Bass Direct and those videos that are left channel only?? There's a database of beautiful basses. all of which sound dreadful on headphones or speakers. I know bass is usually recorded mono, but there's a big difference between mono and left channel only - one sounds ok, the other sounds like needles in the ear. If anyone from there is reading this, guys you should just download a free editor, (something like Audacity) and convert your audio files to mono before you export them to the video files, it's a 1 minute job. I'll do it for you if you want.

[Bobthedog]

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1461347269' post='3033962']
What is it with Bass Direct and those videos that are left channel only?? There's a database of beautiful basses. all of which sound dreadful on headphones or speakers. I know bass is usually recorded mono, but there's a big difference between mono and left channel only - one sounds ok, the other sounds like needles in the ear. If anyone from there is reading this, guys you should just download a free editor, (something like Audacity) and convert your audio files to mono before you export them to the video files, it's a 1 minute job. I'll do it for you if you want.
[/quote]

I thought I was the only one with this issue. It bugs me too and I wish they would sort it out.

[visog]

Have to agree with the previous posters... I have the same channel issue and also the recording pre-amp they use (3 leaf?) makes all the basses sound the same! Maybe it's the demonstrator guy picking the same bridge pick-up Jaco snark-o-tone? I've only really heard a distinct tonal character in the very singular basses that crop up now and again such as the Alembics...

Worth a trip to the shop though! Oodles of great gear...

[artisan]

Great shop,craps videos.

[Dad3353]

I was intrigued by the harshness of the criticism of the videos; enough to have a look and listen for myself. Disclaimer: I'm not a BD customer, and play drums in a different country, so I'm not biased towards or against. Still, there is, in my humble opinion, not much to be said in defence of what I saw. It's left channel only, which puts one off immediately. The playing is not demonstrative of the bass's potential, consisting of a few seconds of 'noodling', either over the bridge pick-up, or slapping/popping. No real exploitation of the controls, not much variation to show a decent range of styles, just 'noodling'. Given the limited styles on display, there's very little to distinguish one bass from another; the recorded quality (even allowing for it being Youtube...) doesn't bring out much in the way of nuance in tone. One would assume that all are going through the same amp/cab..?
Altogether bland, or slightly less. I would be surprised if anyone would buy a bass, or even enquire further, on the basis of these. It's true that I didn't watch every single one; only a a dozen or so, chosen at random. A shame, as it could be a decent 'shop window' if done with a bit more rigour. Very odd, in light of the shop's high reputation in all other aspects.
Disappointing.

[Musashimonkey]

I know there's room for improvement in their videos. But at least they do make and upload videos. They're definitely in the minority, and it's good to see them taking the time to do this.

Hopefully someone can direct them to this thread so they can use this feedback constructively and improve.

[Billy Apple]

I quite like the videos. I accept the sound is sh*te because most things are on You Tube. I like that you can see the basses in action and after all it's just a taster. I'm not sure anyone would buy a pricey bass on the strength of a YT clip. But as others have said, at least they do it.

[chris_b]

The Bass Direct videos don't project the level of professionalism that such a great business deserves.

I understand the thinking and desire to make them in house, but they are lacking in ability and sound quality.

I'd remove and replace all of them ASAP.

Edited April 23, 2016 by chris_b

[project_c]

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1461413148' post='3034432']
I quite like the videos. I accept the sound is sh*te because most things are on You Tube. I like that you can see the basses in action and after all it's just a taster. I'm not sure anyone would buy a pricey bass on the strength of a YT clip. But as others have said, at least they do it.
[/quote]

Things have improved a lot on YouTube over the past few years, there's really no excuse for bad sound quality anymore. You can record with a phone, plug into the cheapest interface and use free software to edit both sound and video. Takes no effort, just a minimal bit of research. If they go to all that trouble, i don't get why they then make it sound like garbage. Customers need to hear the instruments, that's the whole point of a video, otherwise just take a photo and don't bother with videos.. Makes no sense to me. Ah well.

[Bobthedog]

I have just listened to a couple of the latest Cort videos by BD and it appears they have now fixed the sound issue. At least for me, the bass is coming out of both the left and right channels. Pure coincidence or this is a Daily Mail moment where we can lay claim to making this happen? :-)